Slane Students place 2nd in Project Springboard Competition

June 28, 2010

The 2nd place winner in the 2010 Bradley University Project Springboard business plan competition is a team of Slane College students with a plan entitled, "Evening's Empire Recording Company". The team is Music and English major Jared Bartman, Music Vocal Performance major Stephanie Meyer, Communication-Advertising major Max Kerr, Psychology and English major Alfredo Rodriguez, and Sean Cairns wrote the business plan. This highly competitive program was created by Alexis Khazzam of Junction Ventures LLC to encourage young entrepreneurs to start their businesses in Peoria.

"Evening's Empire Recording Company" is a full-service independent record label and music promotions company. This interdisciplinary project found its inception in the work that Jared Bartman has done as an independent musician actively promoting his music through touring, recording, and merchandise sales. Work to turn this project into a viable business plan began in the fall of 2009 during a Senior Project class in the Department of English. "Evening's Empire" will offer not only music recording opportunities, but the business will also provide consulting services for booking performances, for marketing both albums and concerts, and for producing merchandise for sale on-line and at concert venues. Working with the guidance of the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship, as well as many other sources, the team has now completed a business plan to get their new business off the ground.